Restaurant review: Prestige Restaurant ***

A good diner should be unassuming, with an emphasis on quality comfort food, heaping portions, and a wait staff that makes you feel right at home.

The Prestige Restaurant in South Toledo scores on all fronts, providing a “come back and see us again” dining experience.

Located near the busy corner of Hill and Byrne Road, the Prestige is nothing fancy, but its interior is sunny and clean. It's popular with University of Toledo students, working folks looking for a big breakfast or lunch, and people who just want a quality dinner at a decent price.

The menu is eclectic, featuring American, Mediterranean, and Italian offerings. For supper we started with an appetizer of hummus ($3.50 small/$4.99 large), which was excellent. It included olive oil and paprika. The tortilla soup ($2.49) was much too salty, perhaps because nacho chips were afloat in the broth.

The lamb ghallaba ($7.99) — marinated lamb sauteed in olive oil, with herbs, tomatoes, and green peppers — was a melange of subtle flavors that held together well. We also ordered the chicken kabob ($8.99), which had a smoky flavor and was served on a bed of Afghan rice that had none of the sticky, bland features often associated with the grain.

The big gyro sandwich ($7.25 for a combo that included fries and cole slaw) was impressive. Too often gyros are served on weak pita bread that can't handle the meat, lettuce, tomatoes, and sauce, leaving you at the end with a goopy mess. The Prestige uses pita bread that's thick and holds up to the sandwich, and its meat and tzatziki sauce complemented each other well.

The Prestige also specializes in breakfast, which is served until 2 p.m. The restaurant offers four types of omelettes, and we tried the Prestige ($6.99), which was stuffed with onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, ham, bacon, sausage, and hash browns, with cheese melted on top.

This thing tasted great but was absurdly large because it was made with six eggs and it measured about 10 inches long and five inches across. Too much? Of course, unless you're feeding a family of four, but the waitress noted that you can order a scaled down version that is three eggs and costs 79 cents less.

The French toast ($3.29) was thick; once covered with syrup, it made a decent breakfast for those trying to slay their morning sweet tooth.

On each of our visits, the waitresses were exceptionally friendly and accommodating. When one of the orders was incorrect — we didn't want onions on the gyro — she quickly handled the problem.

Add the Prestige to your dining options if you want a no-frills experience, heavy on solid food at a reasonable price in an establishment that treats you right.